What Does an Animal Caretaker Do?
Caring for animals is more physical than most people expect and covers more than just feeding and cleaning. The daily checks an animal caretaker makes may keep cages and kennels clean, but more importantly they catch a sick animal early, whether it lives in a research facility, a veterinary hospital, a shelter or a boarding kennel.
Also known as: Veterinary Animal Caretaker
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Animal Care Giver (ACG), Aquarist, Dog Bather, Dog Groomer, Groomer, Kennel Attendant, Kennel Technician (Kennel Tech), Pet Groomer.
Animal Caretaker Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of an animal caretaker include:
- Feed and water animals on schedule, following each species' diet and any special orders.
- Clean and disinfect cages, pens and kennels, and change bedding.
- Check every animal daily for signs of illness, injury or distress and report them.
- Restrain animals safely for exams, treatments or procedures by veterinary or research staff.
- Run cage-washing machines and autoclaves, and restock clean equipment in animal rooms.
- Record feeding, weights, census and room conditions on daily logs or tablets.
- Exercise, walk or socialize animals as their care plans direct.
- Follow gowning, glove and biosecurity rules when moving between animal rooms.
- Give medications and basic treatments under the direction of a veterinarian or technician.
- Unload deliveries of feed and bedding and keep storage areas clean and pest-free.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as an animal caretaker, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Safe, humane animal handling
- Recognizing early signs of illness
- AALAS ALAT certification for research facilities
- Cleaning and disinfection routines
- Physical stamina for lifting, bending and standing
- Accurate daily logs
- Comfort with odors, noise and animal allergens
- Reliability on early, weekend and holiday shifts
Education and Training
Supervised training on the job, often just a few weeks long, teaches new caretakers the feeding, cleaning and handling routines of their facility. Employers usually ask for a high school diploma, and volunteering at a shelter or working in a vet clinic gives applicants a leg up. Research facilities value certification from AALAS (the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science), which many caretakers earn while working.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $29,820 - $40,050 per year, with a median of $35,360.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Animal Caretakers.
BLS projects employment of animal caretakers to grow about 12 percent from 2025 to 2035, with roughly 62,800 openings a year. In fact, the openings far outnumber the new jobs, since many caretakers move on to other work. That turnover keeps entry-level hiring steady. Pay is modest, with a median of about $35,000 for the group in May 2025, according to BLS.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Animal caretakers.
Animal Caretaker Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $27,250 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $29,820 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $35,360 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $40,050 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $50,060 |
Highest-Paying States for Animal Caretakers
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are District of Columbia ($44,210), Washington ($40,570), Hawaii ($40,130), Massachusetts ($39,650), California ($38,700). Pay is lowest in Alabama ($28,330), Louisiana ($27,910), Mississippi ($26,970).
Median pay in all 51 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $28,330 |
| Alaska | $36,640 |
| Arizona | $38,180 |
| Arkansas | $30,230 |
| California | $38,700 |
| Colorado | $37,430 |
| Connecticut | $37,310 |
| Delaware | $33,910 |
| District of Columbia | $44,210 |
| Florida | $34,150 |
| Georgia | $29,860 |
| Hawaii | $40,130 |
| Idaho | $32,170 |
| Illinois | $35,570 |
| Indiana | $29,990 |
| Iowa | $30,080 |
| Kansas | $29,830 |
| Kentucky | $30,720 |
| Louisiana | $27,910 |
| Maine | $37,230 |
| Maryland | $36,780 |
| Massachusetts | $39,650 |
| Michigan | $30,320 |
| Minnesota | $36,430 |
| Mississippi | $26,970 |
| Missouri | $31,230 |
| Montana | $34,210 |
| Nebraska | $31,680 |
| Nevada | $30,320 |
| New Hampshire | $34,790 |
| New Jersey | $35,850 |
| New Mexico | $33,570 |
| New York | $37,840 |
| North Carolina | $30,870 |
| North Dakota | $34,040 |
| Ohio | $30,310 |
| Oklahoma | $28,940 |
| Oregon | $36,580 |
| Pennsylvania | $31,360 |
| Rhode Island | $37,120 |
| South Carolina | $31,280 |
| South Dakota | $30,390 |
| Tennessee | $30,550 |
| Texas | $32,730 |
| Utah | $34,750 |
| Vermont | $36,090 |
| Virginia | $34,380 |
| Washington | $40,570 |
| West Virginia | $28,550 |
| Wisconsin | $30,160 |
| Wyoming | $29,080 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as animal caretakers about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 88% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 87% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
- 82% spend more than half the workday on their feet
- 78% deal with loud or distracting noise every day
- 64% use their hands on tools, objects or controls for more than half the day
- 56% work outdoors in all kinds of weather every day
- 56% bend or twist for more than half the day
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| High school diploma or GED | 64% |
| Associate's degree | 14% |
| Bachelor's degree | 13% |
| Less than high school | 10% |
Tools and Software Animal Caretakers Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy hands-on work with tools, machines or the outdoors as well as helping, teaching or caring for people.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Coordination, Service Orientation, Judgment and Decision Making.
Knowledge areas used most: Customer and Personal Service, Administrative, English Language, Education and Training, Administration and Management.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 2 of 5, which means some preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
Applying for an Animal Caretaker Job
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 39-2021.00 (Animal Caretakers). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.